The Sochi Network

Eddie ‘The Eagle’: I don’t know if I’d be a hero to Britain today

Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards became a British hero in an era where winning wasn’t everything.

That’s not to say that losing is particularly great – it’s almost natural to want to succeed, to reach goals, to out-perform your peers – but in Calgary 1988, Eddie proved that you can indeed find victory in defeat.

Edwards was the first British representative in Olympic ski jumping back in ’88 but would go on to finish last in both the 70m and 90m events.

While the majority of British sports currently possess an ethos which demands results over progress and development, and such a result as Eddie’s in 2014 would likely result in the firing of coaches and nationwide slashing of funding, ‘The Eagle’ was rightly lauded as a hero for doing something no other Brit had done.

After all, everyone has to start somewhere. And to that bold, creative minority of the human race, blazing such a unique trail means a lot more in life than the admitted appeal of the podium.

Edwards, now one of the last bastions of when Britain as a sporting nation welcomed honest endeavour and progress as an island rather than engaging in petty vicarious bragging rights and pointless debates over whether Andy Murray is ‘Scottish’ or ‘British’, now dedicates his life to fundraising and promotional appearances.

Nonetheless, the 50-year-old was happy to take a few minutes out of his hectic schedule to chat to Eurosport-Yahoo! about the Sochi Games, the perils of the social media era, and sliding down supermarket aisles for charity.

Seeing various sports stars viciously berated by members of the public online when they, or their team, aren’t top of the proverbial class, saddens Edwards, though he does admit he continues to see the good that has also come from the evolution of how we watch and react to sport.

“For me, obviously, Calgary was a unique experience – one of a kind,” Edwards explained.

“It’s hard for me to compare that Games and what I experienced to any other, let alone in the social media era.

“But in modern times, it certainly is a fascinating environment from the outside.

"I'm honestly not sure if, in 2014, people would remember what I did so fondly unless I had won a medal."

Having dabbled with the likes of Twitter in the past himself, Edwards has seen both the beautiful and the ugly side of what has revolutionised sport - and just about everything else - with what is now known as the 'second screen experience'.

“Whether social media and the access people now enjoy is a good or a bad thing, I’m not actually sure," he said.

“It obviously can be quite bad at times, when you see people taking to Twitter and other platforms purely to abuse athletes, but then so much good comes from social media, too.

“News of great achievements spreads so much faster thanks to the internet, and some people who have become heroes in the modern day may not have received that exposure back in the 1980s.